Heritage Financial Services LLC Trims Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Heritage Financial Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,656 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for about 0.2% of Heritage Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,993,689,000 after acquiring an additional 239,753 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,800,447,000 after buying an additional 97,966 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,019,019 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,454,963,000 after buying an additional 504,085 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,556,485,000 after buying an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 9.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,664,299 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,456,987,000 after buying an additional 386,392 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $308.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $298.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.31. The stock has a market cap of $220.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.87.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.